Twitch
Twitch
Hogwarts Legacy drama increases harassment towards trans streamers
Olivia Richman
Transgender VTubers have recently come together to reveal ongoing harmful harassment they’ve experienced on Twitch. Hogwarts Legacy has caused major controversy due to Harry Potter’s author continuing to share transphobic rhetoric on social media and the alt right developers involved in the game’s creation. Some LGBTQ+ and Jewish folks have called for a boycott of the game, but that didn’t stop Twitch from pushing a huge campaign before the game …
Twitch
“I need more money”: Adin Ross contemplates streaming on Kick
Olivia Richman
Kick has been getting more and more controversial as streamers continue to debate leaving Twitch for the new platform. The most recent to discuss the switch is Adin Ross, but he still had some concerns. Tyler “Trainwreck” Nicknam is one of the most well-known gambling streamers on Twitch. When the Microsoft-owned platform cut down on gambling content, Trainwreck was one of the streamers impacted by the big change. He soon …
Twitch
IShowSpeed has awkward interaction with Drake, doesn’t end well
Olivia Richman
Streamer Darren “IShowSpeed” Watkins is known for his controversies and he most recently had an awkward phone call with rapper Drake. IShowSpeed has continued to grow in popularity despite getting permanently banned from Twitch. He has been under fire for threatening to sexually assault a female streamer, racist behavior at the World Cup, and scamming his followers. But his connections with popular streamers and big celebrities has prevailed, allowing him …
Twitch
Andrew Tate claims he may be killed, begs followers to “send their best”
Olivia Richman
The so-called Top G is now in fear for his life, claiming he may be killed in prison. Former red pill influencer Andrew Tate was arrested in late 2022, so he could be detained while Romanian law enforcement continued to investigate a human trafficking ring. While he has continued to claim his innocence, Tate’s detainment was recently prolonged as the investigation keeps going. While detained, Tate has kept busy by …
Twitch
Why are Twitch streamers boycotting Hogwarts Legacy?
Olivia Richman
Twitch streamers are planning a boycott on Twitch due to the streaming platform’s Hogwarts Legacy advertisements. Hogwarts Legacy is officially launching on February 10, 2023, but there is already major controversy surrounding the game. The game is based on the Harry Potter book series, which was written by author J.K. Rowling. Once an inspiration in the young adult literature world, Rowling has become well known for her Twitter rants against …
Twitch
YouTuber attempts to use livestream to cover up brutal murder
Olivia Richman
A popular streamer has been accused of murder after attempting to cover it up with a fake YouTube livestream. Stephen McCullagh, a streamer known for his Doctor Who and toy reviews, was arrested on December 19, 2022 after his pregnant girlfriend, Natalie McNally, was found murdered. But McCullagh told the police that it couldn’t have been him since he had been broadcasting for six hours on YouTube the night she …
Twitch
Nothing, Forever banned after transphobic stand-up scene
Olivia Richman
Nothing, Forever, an AI sitcom that is meant to run 24/7 on Twitch, has been banned. Nothing, Forever is an AI-produced sitcom inspired by Seinfeld. The show is produced by Mismatch Media and is created entirely with AI programs, including the dialogue and animation. It started to gain popularity on Twitch when content creators like Felix “xQc” Lengyel started reacting to it. But now, the Twitch channel is banned. What …
Twitch
PewDiePie reveals that Marzia is pregnant with first child
Olivia Richman
YouTuber Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg and his wife Marzia Bisognin are expecting their first child. PewDiePie’s family has continued to grow in recent years. The couple recently announced that they added a puppy to the clan. And now, Bisognin is pregnant. In pure YouTuber fashion, PewDiePie announced the pregnancy in a YouTube video. The short video was called “We’re having a baby” and was posted early on February 5, 2023. Unlike …
Andrew Tate brainwashed women, according to court documents
Olivia Richman
Twitch
A Romanian court has ruled that Andrew Tate has brainwashed two women. Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan were arrested by authorities in Romania at the end of December 2022 as part of an investigation into a human trafficking ring. Tate has previously admitted to convincing women to do sex work for him while he keeps all of the money and client information but has since denied that he’s guilty. …
Ethan Klein apologizes to QTCinderella for mocking deepfake situation
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Streamer QTCinderella has spoken up about the deepfake website that used her likeliness to create seemingly nude photos of her against her will, leading to an inappropriate reaction from YouTuber Ethan Klein. Recently, streamer Brandon “Atrioc” Ewing tearfully apologized to his community after he accidentally revealed during a livestream that he was looking at nude deepfakes of popular female streamers like Imane “Pokimane” Anys and QTCinderella. The streaming community reacted …
xQc to appear in a future episode of Nothing, Forever on Twitch
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Per usual, Felix “xQc” Lengyel has been at the forefront of an entirely new trend on Twitch. This time around, it’s an AI sitcom called Nothing, Forever. Nothing, Forever is an AI sitcom inspired by Seinfeld. Most people have just been enjoying watching the chaos from their battlestation but xQc found out that there’s a way to be directly involved in the sitcom. Over on Patreon, xQc discovered that people …
Trainwreck calls out Twitch for still allowing gambling streams
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Tyler “Trainwreck” Niknam has been critical of Twitch for a long time, eventually causing him to leave the streaming platform for Kick. Now, Trainwreck is calling out Twitch for continuing to support gambling content. Trainwreck previously felt that Twitch would only punish bigger names, like himself, for gambling on stream. Meanwhile, Train added, smaller streamers will still get away with broadcasting gambling content. It now appears that Trainwreck was right …
Russia is suing Twitch for $57K, here’s why
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Twitch is being fined by the Russian court for $57,000. Twitch, a streaming platform owned by Amazon, refused to take down allegedly fake information surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The information revolved around civilian casualties and other sensitive information. The court also noted that Twitch didn’t remove an interview with Mark Feigin and Ukranian Presidential office Alexei Arestovich. On January 31, a judge in Moscow imposed a fine on …
Atrioc apologizes for looking at nude deepfakes of streamers
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Twitch streamer Brandon “Atrioc” Ewing has come under fire for showing naked deepfakes of popular content creators. During a recent stream, Atrioc switched to another window to reveal an image gallery full of deepfakes. The deepfakes in question were made by putting the faces of popular streamers like Imane “Pokimane” Anys on naked models from online adult content. This would make it appear as if the female streamers were the …
“I know they’re cowards”: Andrew Tate calls out his haters
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Andrew Tate has been tweeting up a storm during this time behind bars. He most recently warned his followers that he’s been “tracking” who is and isn’t supporting him. Tate and his brother were arrested as part of a human trafficking ring investigation in Romania. He’s been under prolonged detainment while the investigation continues. He’s continued to claim his innocence, stating that there’s no evidence against him — aside from …
Kai Cenat banned from Twitch, “green out” possibly why
William Davis
Twitch
Kai Cenat has been temporarily banned from Twitch following a “green out” episode, a massive L for the W community. Kai Cenat has been officially banned from Twitch. The incident is possibly related to consuming marijuana on stream. Cenat has not made an official statement on the ban, but he will likely return to the platform sometime in the near future. The ban was announced on January 26, 2023, with …
“No justice in Romania”: Andrew Tate comments on arrest
Olivia Richman
Twitch
It seems as though Romania isn’t as lax about domestic violence laws as Andrew Tate originally boasted. Andrew Tate is a former athlete and reality television star who later became known for his red pill content on YouTube, Twitch, and podcasts. The controversial figure began to have his accounts blocked all over the internet as he continued to not only spread harmful sexist rhetoric to impressionable young boys, but share …
Logan Paul reveals WWE plans amidst CryptoZoo controversy
Olivia Richman
Twitch
As is the way for influencers, it looks like Logan Paul is slipping past the whole illegal crypto scam where he stole money from fans and is now looking forward to his career in WWE. Late last year, it came to light that Paul had never gone through with his CryptoZoo project, causing fans and investors to lose millions on NFTs. As the community began to scrutinize the controversial figure, …
Adin Ross calls on Twitch to ban “poison” hot tub streams
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Controversial Twitch streamer Adin Ross is calling on the streaming platform to ban hot tub streams entirely. Hot tub streaming has been a big part of Twitch for the past few years. After big influencers like Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa spearheaded the concept of streaming in a bikini from inside an inflatable pool to get around Twitch’s Terms of Service, Twitch was forced to make hot tub streaming its own category. …
Andrew Tate’s custody extended as human trafficking investigation continues
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Prolific figure and red-pill influencer Andrew Tate will be remaining in custody longer than originally planned. Tate and his brother, Tristan, were arrested as part of a human trafficking investigation after he was accused of kidnapping and abusing women. He wound up in custody after he gave away his location in a salty tweet that showed a pizza box from a local chain. Now, he’s being held in jail while …
Twitch is the largest of all the major livestreaming platforms in and around the gaming world, but it wasn’t always that way. Th platform’s history dates back over many years and to a form of the service that had little to do with gaming. So how did it arrive to the top of the gaming marketplace from those humble beginnings?
Twitch transcends justin.tv, is acquired by Amazon
Twitch was originally born out of justin.tv, an early livestreaming website that focus more on general lifestyle streaming than on any one particular niche, gaming included. justin.tv, named after co-founder Justin Kan, was launched in 2007 and went on to feature multiple categories of streaming options. Among these was gaming, a category which quickly outpaced the growth of platform’s other categories.
Responding to this growth, justin.tv spun out its gaming section in 2011 into a new service called Twitch.tv, and that is the true starting point of Twitch as it exists today.
It would still be some time before Twitch would resemble its modern-day operation. The biggest move towards that progression came in 2014, when the streaming platform was purchased for just shy of $1 billion in cash by services and technology giant Amazon. That move transitioned the company being a private operation largely funded by private investment and internal revenues to one of many arms of one of the world’s largest and richest companies.
Twitch dominates gaming livestreaming
The growth of Twitch largely coincided with the growth of livestreaming the world over, and gaming was a key driver of that growth as audiences flocked in droves to watch charismatic personalities play through their favorite games both new and old. Some of those personalities would become so popular that they would rival mainstream celebrities in notoriety with younger audiences, from Tyler “Ninja” Blevins to Imane “Pokimane” Anys.
Some of those personalities would be poached by rival streaming platforms that cropped up in response to the runaway popularity of Twitch. Microsoft’s Mixer and YouTube’s YouTube Gaming both signed streamers with massive audiences to exclusive streaming deals via big-money contracts. But Twitch proved resilient; no matter how popular the streamers were when they were signed away, someone else seemed prime to fill their spot. Twitch had become more than just a vehicle through which popular personalities could stream. It was itself a destination for its audience.
Twitch does still continue to compete with rival platforms. Kick is perhaps its biggest competition today, offering generous
subscription revenue splits
in an effort to sway streamers away from Twitch. But Amazon’s platform remains the most popular.
Twitch finds controversy over moderation, censorship
Given the nature of the Twitch platform, one that is entirely reliant on user-generated content, it should come as no surprise that moderation and censorship have long been hot topics of conversation. Consistency, or lack thereof, is often cited as Twitch’s biggest issue as its moderation team struggles to pass judgments across a litany of streamers producing a great variety of content.
Those content types have only grown over time. While Twitch found massive popularity by moving away from the greater variety of justin.tv and focusing specifically on gaming, the platform has ironically pushed back into other categories in more recent years, attempting to find additional growth by emphasizing the streaming of art, music, and its popular “just chatting” content that sees streamers talking directly to their audience without any particular activity driving their engagement.
But while Twitch is now a lightning rod for controversy and discussion given its great size and breadth, that controversy has shown no real risk to lessening its grip on the livestreaming industry. Twitch has become the dominant name in its category, and with its biggest streamers continuing to
set new records, all signs point to that dominance continuing for the foreseeable future.
